Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

SECURITY HAS been scaled up at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence in Bandra East after a man, claiming to work for fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, made two phone calls on Saturday night and threatened to blow up Matoshree, police said.

The state Cabinet, which met Sunday evening, a day before the commencement of the two-day state Assembly session, expressed concern over the threat to blow up the CM’s residence. Terming it a “very serious matter”, the Cabinet said the Union government should take the immediate note of it and find out the person behind the calls.

A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said strict punishment should be given to the person(s).

It quoted state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh as saying that the crime branch is conducting a thorough probe in the matter.

A senior Mumbai Police officer said the caller made two very short phone calls on the landline phone of Thackeray’s residence. Both the calls were answered by a telephone operator.

“The caller identified himself as Mohammad Khalid and claimed to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. He told the operator that ‘Bhai’ wanted to speak to the CM and asked for the calls to be transferred. The phone calls were terminated by the operator,” the official said. The operator reported the phone calls to the police.

Additional police personnel was rushed to the high-security residence and efforts are underway to trace the phone call, the official said.

Expressing concern over the calls, Shiv Sena leader and state Transport Minister Anil Parab, however, said the caller did not threaten to blow up the bungalow but had wanted to speak to the CM.

“There was an anonymous caller at Matoshree, who said that he is from the Dawood gang and he wanted to speak to the chief minister. This is the primary information. The caller did not threaten to blow up Matoshree. We have informed the police about the phone calls. Police are investigating to see who called (at Matoshree), why, and whether he is really connected with the Dawood gang. So far, nobody has dared to give such threats and the government will not let the person go scot-free,” Parab told mediapersons.

Parab added the state government will ensure adequate security to the chief minister. “The police department will take appropriate measures about the chief minister’s security. The CM’s security is reviewed from time to time. It is also done before the start of the Assembly session. The CM has been provided adequate security that will be continued further,” he said.